Omar Khan (born 15 January 1959) is a British entrepreneur best known for the Indian restaurant chain of the same name and as the owner of the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

. Khan has also been noted for his community and philanthropic work in his home city of

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. He is no longer a part of the Bulls due to ill health and old age. Khan is of

Pakistani origin Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...

Career

Omar Khan's Restaurant

Khan initially opened his Bradford restaurant in 1984, under the name Shah Jehan as owner and head chef, later moving to larger premises in the centre of Bradford and shifting to Omar Khan's to avoid name confusion. Over the years the restaurant has garnered a number of accolades including the Best in Britain Award in 1997, 98 and 99 award presented by the real curry restaurant guide. Omar Khan was also awarded the Hot Stuff Chef Of the Year 1994/95 by TAARO and Housing & Environmental Over the years Omar Khan's has hosted a number of celebrities and political figures including

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Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

and

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...

. In 2011, a second branch of the restaurant opened in

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

Bradford Bulls

On 31 August 2012, as the sole director of OK Bulls Limited and with the support of

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP and former sports minister

Gerry Sutcliffe Gerard Sutcliffe (born 13 May 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford South from 1994 to 2015. He was the Minister for Sport and Tourism in the Brown Government. Biography Born in Salford, ...

, Khan purchased the Rugby League club. Joint administrator Brendan Guilfoyle announced the sale stating, "My main duty as administrator is to get the best return for creditors - and this was the best deal on the table. Omar Khan has also passed the Rugby Football League's test as being a 'fit and proper person' to run a rugby club as well as being a passionate fan of the Bulls." Since taking on ownership, Khan has announced ambitious plans to transform

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

into the "

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

of the North."

Community and philanthropic work

Khan is engaged in a number of ventures aimed at benefiting the community in Bradford, such as OK In The Community which helps provide housing, independent living, and support services to people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health issues and the OK Academy, which provides training for unemployed and disadvantaged youngsters. Khan also supports a number of local, national and international charities. In 2005, he helped raise £35,000 for the

Telegraph & Argus The ''Telegraph & Argus'' is the daily newspaper for Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is published six times each week, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. The newspaper has offices in Newhall Way, Bradford, from where its journalists work ...

South Asian Earthquake Appeal In 2009, Khan was appointed as Asian ambassador for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

football club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Omar Living people British restaurateurs Bradford Bulls British people of Indian descent 1959 births